Ann, I was born in St.Charles,IL..A city,area,in Northern IL. that was a hot bed of abolishion since the 1830's which came to a head in the mid 1840's with the formation of the Kane County Anti-Slavery Society.Some prominate people belonged to the society.Cynthia Waite, Abby C. Ward, Elizabeth Finley, Catherine Walker,James Wheeler(Wild Rose Farm) and James Durant(a relative by marriage),Valentine Randall and possibly the best known was Gen.John Farnsworth,(formed 8IL.Cav."Farnsworth's Big Abolishion Regiment") Il.Congressman 1856-58,again 1862-63,lawyer,personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, at his death bed and one of the founders of the Republican Party.The key word is republican as the democrates(then conservative) did not favor abolishion.I lived close to Klink's Wagon Shop a known station as well as the Wild Rose Inn where it too had tunnels to the river (said to be sewage related as in your case)and I explored as a child.With the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 things went more underground.Still existed as an act of civil disobediance of the law.Relatives of a freed slave that used the "railroad" Joanna Garner still live in the area and were the only negroes I ever saw till I was around thirteen when my family went to Chicago one Christmas.
The events that lead to the formation of the copperhead organization had to do with the war creating a depression mid 1861/fall of 1862.When access to the Mississippi River was halted ,trade with the south prohibited and the east-west railroads doubled their freight charges.The Morrill Tariff Act of 1861 weighed heavily and was felt as directly purposely supressing the western man and the policy was at their expense making New England rich.Because of this the Democratic party siezed control of the IL. House and Congress in 1862,elected for two yrs. and tried to control the Republican Gov. Yates elected four yrs.in 1860.(history repeats) through a loophole they weren't effective but, did form the basis of the copperhead,peace democrate,Sons of Liberty movement in IL..
The Democrates(Western Sectionalism) were Negrophobic (Freed Negroes formed a threat to white laborers of the large Irish and German populations in the area).They were not pro-slavery however were against emancipation.The four things that brought men to the party were 1.)Emancipation proclamation 2.) suspencion of Habeas Corpus, arbitary arrests 3.)Conscription Act including the $300.00 exemption clause and 4.)Loss of general confidence on the part of the people in the wisdom of the government.Despotism of Lincoln.
Southerners act surprised but,Illinois had much in common with the south especially southern IL..Not all Illinois was pro Lincoln as now described.To the winners go the spoils.
You are a great value to the state. I look forward to your posts.